XII INTER-AMERICAN CONFERENCE OFOEA/Ser.K/XII.12.1
MINISTERS OF LABORTRABAJO/doc.54/01
17-19 October, 200130 October 2001
Ottawa, CanadaOriginal: English
FINAL REPORT
1
CONTENTS
Page
I.BACKGROUND ...... 1
II.PROCEEDINGS ...... 1
A.Preparatory Session ...... 1
Election of officials…...... 1
Composition of the Committees ...... 1
a.Committee on Credentials ...... 1
b.Style Committee……...... 1
B.Inaugural Session...... 2
C.Plenary Sessions ...... 2
Summary of presentations by International Organizations…...... 3
Summary of the presentations by the Ministers of
Labor of the Americas and discussion of the proposed
Declaration and Plan of Action...... 5
D. Closing Session…...... 10
APPENDICES
APPENDIX I
Declaration of Ottawa and Plan of Action...... 15
Resolutions Adopted:
Declaration of Support for the Peace Process in Colombia...... 23
Statement by the Inter-American Conference of
Ministers of Labor Against International Terrorism...... 25
Information System on Labor Markets (SISMEL)...... 27
APPENDIX II
List of Participants ...... 31
APPENDIX III
Agenda and Calendar...... 85
APPENDIX IV
Report of the Committee on Credentials ...... 95
APPENDIX V
Address by Mr. Ricardo Solari Saavedra,
Minister of Labor and Social Security of Chile
and Chairman Pro Tempore of the XI ACML ...... 101
Remarks by the Honorable Jean Chrétien, Prime Minister Of Canada...... 105
Welcome Remarks by the Honorable
Claudette Bradshaw, Minister of Labor of Canada
and Chair of the XII ACML...... 107
APPENDIX VI
PRESENTATIONS BY THE MINISTERS:
Remarks by Austin M. Josiah, Labor Commissioner of Antigua and Barbuda...... 113
Speech of the Argentine Delegation...... 117
Speech by the Minister of Labor of Barbados, Rawle Eastmond...... 121
Presentation by the Minister of Labor of Bolivia, Dr. Jorge Pacheco Franco...... 125
Address by Minister Francisco Dornelles, Minister of Labor of Brazil...... 129
Presentation by the Honorable Claudette Bradshaw, Minister of Labor of Canada....133
Remarks by Mr. Ricardo Solari Saavedra, Minister of Labor
And Social Welfare of Chile...... 137
Statement by Mr. Angelino Garzón, Minister of Labor of Colombia...... 143
Proyecto de Difusión de los Derechos Laborales de las Mujeres,
presentación del Viceministro de Costa Rica...... 147
Remarks by Matthew George, of the Ministry of Legal Affairsand
InternationalTrade of Dominica...... 151
Discurso Pronunciado por el Doctor Milton Ray Guevara, Secretario de
Estado de Trabajo de la República Dominicana...... 153
Intervención del Señor Ministro de Trabajo y Recursos
Humanos del Ecuador, Ab. Martin Insua Chang...... 157
Palabras de Jorge Isidoro Nieto Menéndez, Ministro de Trabajo y
Previsión Social de El Salvador...... 159
Discurso de Juan Francisco Alfaro Mijangos, Ministro de Trabajo y
Previsión Social de Guatemala...... 161
Remarks by Lawrence A. Joseph, Minister of Labor and Local
Government of Grenada: Update on Industrial Relations Legislation...... 163
Remarks by the Minister of Labor And Social Affairs of Haiti,
Eudes St. Preux Craan...... 165
The Trend In the Labor Market, Presented by the
Ministry of Labor of Honduras, José María Reina Vallecillo...... 167
Remarks by Horace W. Dalley, Minister of Labor
andSocial Security of Jamaica...... 169
Address by the Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare
of Mexico, Carlos Abascal...... 173
Palabras de Manuel Martínez S., Ministro de Trabajo de Nicaragua...... 177
Palabras de Juan Estebán Aguirre, Embajador del Paraguay...... 181
La Nueva Política Laboral en el Perú, Fernando Villarán
Ministerio del Trabajo y Promoción Social del Peru...... 183
Remarks by Velon John, Minister of Legal Affairs,
Home Affairs, and Labor of Saint Lucia...... 187
Efficient Ways to Assist the Unemployement, presented by
Edwin Snagg, Minister of Labor, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines...... 191
Remarks by Rupert Herbert, Minister of Social Development,
Community Affairs and Gender of St. Kitts and Nevis...... 195
Speech of the Minister of Labor, Technological Development and
Environment of Suriname, Clifford Marica...... 197
Remarks by the High Commissioner of Trinidad and Tobago
to Canada, Robert Sabga...... 201
Remarks by United States Deputy Secretary of Labor, D. Cameron Findlay...... 205
Address by the Acting Minister of Labor and Social Security of the
Eastern Republic of Uruguay, Mr. Juan Bosch: “Globalization
and its Impact on Labor Markets”...... 209
Presentation of the Venezuelan Labor Minister,
Mrs. Blancanieve Portocarrero: The General Outlook for
Productive Employment and Job Policies...... 213
APPENDIX VII
Address by César Gaviria, Secretary General
of the Organization of American States (OAS)...... 217
Address Delivered by the Director of the
International Labor Organization (OIT), Mr. Juan Somavia...... 221
APPENDIX VIII
Report of the President of COSATE, Hassan Yussuff ...... 229
Report of the President of CEATAL, Daniel Funes de Rioja...... 231
Address by Minister of Labor from Canada,
the Honorable Claudette Bradshaw, on
the Occasion of the Closing Session...... 233
APPENDIX IX
Minutes of the Meeting – Permanent Technical
Committee on Labor Matters (COTPAL)...... 239
APPENDIX: Suggestions from the Central American Countries,
Panama, Belize, and the Dominican Republic for the agendas of the
Working Groups established by the Plan of Action of Ottawa...... 243
Draft Agenda for the Meeting of the Permanent
Technical Committee on Labor Matters (COTPAL)...... 245
APPENDIX X
Minutes of the Meeting – Permanent Executive Committee
of the Trade Union Technical Advisory Council (COSATE)...... 249
Draft Agenda for the Meeting of the Permanent
Executive Committee of the Trade Union Technical
Advisory Council (COSATE)...... 253
Presentation to the Ministers of Labor by the Permanent Executive
Committeee of the Trade Union Council for Technical Assistance...... 255
APPENDIX XI
Minutes of the Meeting – Permanent Executive
Committee of the Business Technical Advisory
Committee on Labor Matters (CEATAL)...... 263
Appendix: Declaration of CEATAL and COSATE on the
Social and Labor Dimensions of Regional Integration...... 267
Draft Agenda for the Meeting of the Permanent
Executive Committee of the Business Technical
Advisory Committee on Labor Matters (CEATAL)...... 269
APPENDIX XII
List of Documents ...... 271
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FINAL REPORT
I. BACKGROUND
The Twelfth the Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor took place on October 17-19, 2001, in Ottawa, Canada, in accordance with the mandate CIDI/RES. 11(I-E/01) and resolution AG/RES. 1889 (XXX1-O/01). The Eleventh Conference was held in Viña del Mar, Chile, on October 20-22, 1998.
II. PROCEEDINGS
During the Conference, and in accordance with Article 27 of the Rules of Procedure, a preparatory session, an inaugural session, two plenary sessions, and one closing session were held, as described below. A list of the documents used at the Conference is attached hereto as Appendix XII.
A.Preparatory Session
In accordance with Article 28 of the Conference’s Rules of Procedure, the regular representatives of the attending delegations held a preparatory session on October 17, 2001, at 11:30 a.m., before the Conference was formally opened. This session was initially chaired by Dr. Ricardo Solari Saavedra, Minister of Labor of Chile, in his capacity as Chairman of the Eleventh Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor.
Election of Officers
The preparatory session elected the Honorable Claudette Bradshaw, Minister of Labor of Canada, to serve as Chair of the Twelfth Conference. Under Article 11 of the Rules of Procedure, the heads of the remaining delegations were declared ex officio vice chairmen, to replace the Chairman in the event of his absence or inability, in accordance with the established order of precedence.
Composition of the Committees
a.Committee on Credentials
The delegations of Jamaica, Ecuador and Panama were selected to make up the Committee on Credentials, that met on October 18, 2001. The Committee’s report is attached hereto as Appendix IV.
b.Style Committee
The Style Committee was constituted by the delegations of Brazil (Portuguese), Canada (English and French), Haiti (French), and Mexico (Spanish). This Committee met on 19 October, 2001, at 2:30 pm, and revised the Ottawa Declaration and Plan of Action, as well as the other Resolutions approved by all delegations at the Closing Session and that are included in this report, following the text of the Ottawa Declaration and Plan of Action.
B.Inaugural Session
The inaugural session was held on October 18, 2001 and began at 9:00 a.m. Remarks were given by Dr. Ricardo Solari Saavedra, Minister of Labor of Chile and Chairman of the Eleventh Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor; the Right Honorable Jean Chrétien, Prime Minister of Canada, who could not attend the meeting but had prepared an audio-visual presentation; the Honorable Claudette Bradshaw, Minister of Labor of Canada and Chair of the Twelfth Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor. Speeches followed by Dr. César Gaviria, Secretary General of the Organization of American States and Dr. Juan Somavía, Director-General of the International Labor Organization. The speeches are attached hereto as Appendix V and VII.
Beginning at 10:45 a.m., consideration was given to the agenda item “Follow-up Reports to the Eleventh Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor: Progress since the Viña del Mar Declaration and Plan of Action.” Addresses were given by Dr. Ricardo Solari Saavedra, Minister of Labor of Chile and Chairman of the Eleventh Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor, who reported on the implementation of the Plan of Action of Viña del Mar; Dr. Augustín Muñoz, ILO Regional Director for the Americas, who reported on the Technical Cooperation Program of the Eleventh Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor; and by Dr. Sofialeticia Morales, Director of the OAS Unit for Social Development and Education, whoindicated that the OAS activities carried out since the Eleventh Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor were presented in document TRABAJO/doc.11/01 and proceeded to make a presentation on education and poverty and its impact on employment.
Consideration was then given to the agenda item “Reports by the Advisory Bodies.” Dr. Hassan Yussuff, Chair of the Permanent Executive Committee of the Trade Union Technical Advisory Council (COSATE), reported on the session held the previous day by COSATE, and Dr. Daniel Funes de Rioja, Chair of the Permanent Executive Committee of the Business Technical Advisory Committee on Labor Matters (CEATAL), reported on the session held the previous day by CEATAL. Both Dr. Funes de Rioja and Dr. Yussuff emphasized, in their presentation, the innovative joint “Declaration on the Social Labor Dimensions of Regional Integration”, signed on October 17, 2001, by both Committees. (Appendix XI)
C.Plenary Sessions
The First Plenary Session was held on October 18, 2001, from 11:45 to 18:00. There were presentations by International Organizations, followed by presentations by the Ministers of Labor of the Americas. The Order of Precedence for presentations by Ministers was established as follows:
- Chile
- Canada
- Brazil
- Uruguay
- Saint Lucy
- Dominican Republic
- Mexico
- Argentina
- Unites States of America
- Barbados
- El Salvador
- Guatemala
- Grenada
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Venezuela
- Ecuador
- Peru
- Costa Rica
The Second Plenary Session was held on October 19, 2001, from 9:00 to 11:30. The order of precedence for presentations by Ministers of Labor was established as follows:
- Colombia
- Dominica
- Bolivia
- St-Kitts and Nevis
- Suriname
- Nicaragua
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Jamaica
- St-Vincent and the Grenadines
- Paraguay
Presentations by International Organizations
At 11:45 a.m., the First Plenary Session started, with reports and presentations by International Organizations. Addresses were given by Ronald Scheman, Executive Director of the Inter-American Agency for Cooperation and Development (IACD) of the Council for Integral Development (CIDI); Paulo Paiva, Vice-President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB); Luz Maritza Tennassee, Regional Advisor in Workers’ Health of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Rex García, Director of the Washington Office of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and Carmen Lomellin, Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM).
The representative of the IACDreaffirmed CIDI’s commitment to work in collaboration with Ministries of Labor, stressing the fundamental importance of labor issues in the social agenda for the Americas. Mr. Scheman reported on the new vision developed at the OAS, since the creation of the Inter-American Agency for Cooperation and Development (IACD), established at the beginning of 2000 to assist Member States in addressing the challenges of social imbalances and in overcoming poverty. The new Agency’s goal is to promote new and more effective forms of cooperation between Member States, allowing those countries that have acquired expertise to share it with other states. The Plan adopted by the Agency is to identify best practices in specific sectors, and apply new sources of finance by enhancing private-public partnership. Dr. Scheman also summarized some of the Agency’s major achievements.
The representative of IDB reaffirmed the commitment of its institution to helping Latin American countries facing the challenges of globalization, at a time when social policies are crucial to improve and ensure an adequate level of social and economic development in the region. The impacts of globalization are not uniform throughout the region, and some countries are facing difficult problems of unemployment and lower levels of productivity. Labor Ministries, on the other hand, sometimes lack the necessary tools to enforce labor laws and ensure adequate social conditions for all workers. The IDB is working in this area and disseminating new policies in countries where they are most needed, sharing efforts and knowledge to build effective Labor Ministries in the region. Moreover, the IDB is carrying a number of technical assistance projects in labor training, labor inspection, and protection of unemployed workers, among others.
The representative of PAHO informed on the activities to promote equitable occupational health for the region of the Americas through a preventive approach to health. PAHO has developed the Workers Health Plan in the Americas, an interdisciplinary, transnational and inter-sectorial initiative to promote human sustainable development. New and varied hazards are affecting health in workplace, and sometimes workplace is a hazard in itself. People working in hazardous conditions often have a lower income and less general protection, these elements affecting to a greater extent women, children, migrants and the elderly. The responsibility of these flaws in labor conditions is shared by both public and private actors, and PAHO works with the objective of being the catalyst for health in the region. Dr. Tennassee concluded by mentioning the various agreements developed and signed by the PAHO to apply the Workers Health Plan in the Americas, putting under way many projects of assistance for countries.
The representative of ECLAC emphasized the labor and social dimensions of globalization, which include, among other elements, high unemployment rates, especially in urban centers, absence of increase –or decrease- of wages, slow economic growth in the region, structural gaps between the types of work available and the skills possessed by the work force, a gap increased by rapid changes in technology and organizational capacity of workplaces. Combined with a lack of proper social mechanisms to confront this situation, the region of Americas is facing serious problems. Mr. García stressed the need to create policies to increase productive and competitive employment levels. Mr. García mentioned a few of ECLAC initiatives and activities carried out with the objective of generating public policy proposals, in the countries of the region that most need it. Among other things, ECLAC is focusing on gender mainstreaming activities and professional training programs.
The representative of CIM informed the participants on the activities undertaken following the first-ever Ministerial meeting held in Washington in 2000 to address the status of women in the Americas. This program produced the Inter-American Program for the Promotion of Women’s Human Rights and Gender Equity and Equality, which has become the CIM’s main tool for the mainstreaming of gender in inter-American activities and fora. In this perspective, the CIM recommended to integrate a gender perspective into all policies and programs regarding the labor sector; to attain the norm of equal pay for equal work in all workplaces; and to develop social security protection programs for women working in the informal sector, among other suggestions. The Representative moreover invited Ministries of Labor of the Americas to participate in a meeting to be held on December 11-12, 2001, with the purpose of reviewing the results of the Twelfth Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor and developing strategies to implement recommendations emerging from the experience of including gender in a mainstreaming perspective.
Presentations by the Ministers of Labor of the Americas and discussion of the proposed Declaration and Plan of Action
The Ministers of Labor of the Americas expressed their views in short, 10 minutes presentations, during the First and Second Plenary Sessions. Most of their comments revolved around a few main issues, which are summarized here. The texts of available presentations appear as separate documents of the proceedings of the Conference. The respective speeches are attached hereto as Appendix VI.
Goals of the Conference and Role of Ministries of Labor in the Americas
Four main goals of the Twelfth Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor were identified. First, to implement the labor and employment mandates of the Quebec City Summit Declaration and Plan of Action. Second, to involve key international institutions more actively in the work of Ministries of Labor of the Americas. Third, to ensure that the voices of all OAS member states was being heard; and fourth, to actively work with business and labor groups to ensure that their considerations and ideas are taken into account in the work of Ministries of Labor. Ministers emphasized that one of their most important role was to ensure that the results of the Conference were concrete and that the Declaration and Plan of Action would be effectively implemented.
It was recognized that in the region of the Americas, the Summit Process has had an undeniable impact on labor forces and it is the role of governments, more particularly of Ministers of Labor, to ensure decent work and effective labor protection for all citizens. Ministers of Labor of all countries share the responsibility to build the proper legal, cultural and institutional conditions to improve labor conditions and allow for the creation of a more humane Free Trade Area of the Americas. Joint action and collaboration among all countries was recognized as a key factor in building a social vision for the Hemisphere, to ensure that Free Trade and social well-being can coexist.
Globalization
Most delegations emphasized that globalization, understood as the growing impact of worldwide economic, social and cultural processes over national or regional ones, has had repercussions for labor sectors, at many levels. Technological changes and the interdependence of markets, characterized by a deregulated economy exposed to external influences, has had wide-ranging effects for workers as well as employers of countries of the Americas.
Technological changes bring a higher demand for skilled work and less demand for manual or unskilled jobs. The productive sectors of the economy must continuously adapt to a rapid pace of transformations in all aspects of their work. There is therefore an increased need for lifelong training and adequate education, aiming at creating and maintaining high levels of productivity and employability in all sectors of the economy. Many delegations indicated their efforts to achieve this goal and establish adequate education programs in their countries.